The New Normal Blog

Last night in our house was one of those, “Boy am I glad we have thick walls and don’t live in an apartment building” times. Why? Because I would hate to have the neighbors hear us screaming at Noah, our son who has autism, to hear him yelling at us, and hear us shouting at each other.

Five exemplary organizations and companies from around the world round out the 2016 class of Ruderman Inclusion Prize winners, announced today, each receiving $50,000 for demonstrating model inclusion for people with disabilities

“It came to pass when Isaac was old, and his eyes were too dim to see, that he called Esau his elder son, and he said to him, "My son," and he said to him, "Here I am." [Genesis Chapter 27:1}

Isaac’s problem with his vision is the first time that we confront an overt disability in the Torah. (The first mentioned disability is infertility, but this is a “hidden disability”). So it’s not surprising that there have been a number of different responses to Isaac’s blindness and explanations proffered about how and why Isaac was afflicted in this way. In these responses we can see a range of different perspectives on disability that are commonly held and which inform the various ways we view disability.

"We mark this year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities in the wake of the adoption of the ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This global blueprint for action summons us to 'leave no one behind'."

If his words come to fruition it will be a leap forward for people with disabilities, their families and their communities. There are about 7 billion of us on this planet, one billion of who have some form of disability. About 10% of people with disabilities worldwide are children and 80% of people with disabilities live in the developing world.